City lawmakers to hear update on station redevelopment plan

Martin B. Cassidy

Published
8:42 pm EDT, Wednesday, April 23, 2014

STAMFORD -- State transportation officials plan to take over a nearly mile-long section of South State Street adjacent to the Stamford train station by the end of May to clear the way for a planned $500 million redevelopment of state-owned land and the replacement of the Atlantic Street overpass.

Michael Pollard, chief of staff for Mayor David Martin, said the administration requested that the state and developer present their plans to city lawmakers to address traffic and other concerns.

Pollard said the city has met with Redeker and other DOT officials multiple times since December and raised concerns about traffic.

"The plan they are presenting is not necessarily one we endorse at all, but one they have defined as being appropriate," he said. "We've asked them to address traffic impacts in far more detail than we've seen yet."

City lawmakers said this week they have received few specifics about the status of the plan announced by Redeker and McClutchy nearly a year ago. At that time, the proposed development was presented with an office and hotel on the footprint of a parking garage on Station Place, plus a separate development on Manhattan Street that would mix office, residential and commercial space totaling more than 1 million square feet.

An 1,200-space garage is expected to remain for commuter use.

The $75 million replacement of the Atlantic Street rail overpass, in the works for more than a decade, is to start this year.

"The residents and the representatives have a right to know what is going on and the specific plans and how it will impact that part of the city and the commuters," said city Rep. John Zelinsky, D-11.

City Rep. Harry Day, R-13, chairman of the board's Land Use and Urban Redevelopment Committee, said lawmakers need more information to address traffic and economic concerns, including the tax-exempt status of the state land being developed.

Typically, cities are given a sizable annual payment in lieu of taxes, Day said.

"I think the critical point is the facility, when completed, works well for what the core purpose of a train station is: to get on and off the train coming from home in the morning and getting off in the evening," Day said. "The project has got to work for the city of Stamford in terms of revenue for (state) PILOT funds or other similar arrangement for commercial property on the land owned by the state."

State ownership of South State Street between Greenwich Avenue and Elm Street is necessary for the project and the overpass, state DOT spokesman Judd Everhart said. The development plan includes a commuter garage on South State Street, but the development as proposed would not reduce South State Street's traffic capacity, he said.

Parts of South State Street are now on state-owned land; Everhart said clarifying ownership of the right of way is necessary.

"The South State Street roadway itself encroaches on state land at various locations, and other state improvements currently encroach on the South State Street right of way," he said.

Late in 2008, then-DOT Commissioner Joseph Marie delayed a $35 million plan to replace the commuter garage to pursue an agreement with a private developer to build the parking as part of a station redevelopment. State officials subsequently revised the projected cost of the new parking itself to $70 million and said the state wanted to limit its investment by involving a private investor.

McClutchy did not return a call for comment Wednesday.

Last year, the Land Use Committee held off action on the DOT's request to take South State Street because of the state's decision not to share greater detail about the overall redevelopment project.

City Rep. Gabe DeLuca, R-14, chairman of the board's Transportation Committee, said while the city has little recourse to halt the state from taking the street, he hoped the meeting would give lawmakers a chance to emphasize the development should not reduce the station's ability to serve commuters.

In 2012, the state's commuter rail council and individual commuters urged the state to maintain parking spots for train riders at the site of the rundown garage rather than moving commuter parking up to a quarter-mile away from the station.

DeLuca said at the very least, the plan should include pedestrian walkways over the tracks linking garages to both the eastbound and westbound platforms to minimize the time it takes to walk through the station.

"If they had up-and-overs to all the garages, that would alleviate a lot of commuter concerns about lengthy walks through the stations," DeLuca said.

More Information

The Committee of the Whole will meet on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the legislative chambers at Stamford Government Center to discuss the state's planned takeover of South State Street.